Chapter 2 Self-Awareness, Critical Reflectivity, and ... - Lyceum Books

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Chapter 02 2/11/08 12:10 PM Page 23 Self-Awareness, Critical Reflectivity, and Identity 23 3. What do I know about how to relate to and interpret the behavior of others who occupy social locations (i.e., class, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, religion) that are similar to, as well as different from, my own? 4. What have I learned about how to interpret the behavior of people whose race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, or religion is different from my own? What if I add class and gender/sex to the equation? 5. What do I know about my conscious intentions when I interact with a client who is African American, Latino/Latina, Native American, Asian American, biracial or multiracial, or European American; refugees and other immigrants; people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or intersex; and people with disabilities? 6. Why do the consequences or outcomes of my actions not fit with or match my good intentions? (Kondrat, 1999) These questions facilitate a process of reflection that allows for critical selfreflectivity. Box 2.2 provides an example of a situation in which this reflection was useful to a social work intern in her work. Box 2.2 Reflections of a Social Work Intern Carrie, a white social work intern in her mid-twenties, is completing her practicum in a community-based social service agency. She has been assigned several cases throughout the academic year. As she approaches her final two months of field work, she is asked to reflect on her experiences in preparation for the end-of-term field evaluation.Carrie was eager to start her internship and chose to work in an urban agency that had a diverse client population. Having been raised in a family that believed that all people should be treated equally, and having lived most of her life in a small rural all-white community, Carrie was looking forward to the challenges of an urban experience. Carrie’s agency is located in an active urban community that is home to a growing number of racial/ethnic groups. At this community service organization, clients can find a diverse range of services all under one roof.The rapid growth of the community, however, has required changes within the agency, which is now often short staffed. Although clients from various racial/ethnic groups are served, the agency staff is primarily composed of white middle-class women. Carrie looks to her colleagues and supervisor to understand agency protocol in this rapidly changing environment. Carrie has demonstrated her willingness to actively engage in reflective practice through the use of supervision, journal writing, and field seminar discussions. Her weekly meetings with her supervisor have been very task focused, and she has received positive feedback about her performance. While reviewing her cases thus far, however,
Chapter 02 2/11/08 12:10 PM Page 24 24 Critical Multicultural Social Work Carrie and her supervisor noticed a pattern in some of her closed cases. Clients of other racial and/or ethnic groups have had less favorable outcomes than white clients. Carrie was concerned with this revelation. She is committed to the field of social work and believes in treating all people equally. Carrie reviewed her cases and asked herself Kondrat’s questions. As she evaluated her daily behavior, how she related to and interpreted the behavior of others, her intentions, and the consequences of her actions, she came to realize that in spite of her commitment to equal treatment, she inadvertently disregarded the history, culture, and value differences that significantly influence the way in which racial/ethnic identity affects an individual’s experience of the world. Reflection Engaging in critical reflectivity offers an opportunity for the assessment of personal beliefs, intentions, and attitudes.The process highlights areas in which assumptions and interactions between oneself and others result in behaviors that perpetuate the marginalization of people who have been oppressed. This process reveals how power and privilege are understood or misunderstood,and how assumptions make a difference in determining whether interactions are productive, hurtful, or destructive. Categorical differences such as class, socioeconomic position, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and sex influence the interactions between members of privileged groups and people who are from historically oppressed populations. Critical reflectivity allows people to begin to understand how their experience of themselves is embedded in their interactions with others and how shared meanings are created (Kondrat, 1999). The focus is on examining the ways things can be changed, not on what could or should have happened. Moving beyond guilt, shame, or anger to critical reflection facilitates growth and the development of a new social consciousness (Schmitz et al., 2001). Misinformation that was received in the past can be corrected, and behavior modified in the future. Understanding oneself in context allows one to search for new explanations for one’s behavior and intentions (Schmitz et al., 2001). In this process, personal biases and cultural stereotypes, societal prejudices and oppression, and the experiences of all racial/ethnic groups in modern society are examined. It is within the context of our own experiences, relationships, family, community, and culture that we interpret our daily interactions. Understanding ourselves involves examining the norms, values, and skills arising from our own racial/ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, ability, and sexual orientation history and identification. As we engage in the process,we come to recognize the disparities in power and authority between ourselves and others, and we begin to understand that
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Chapter 2 Self-Awareness, Critical Reflectivity, and ... - Lyceum Books

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